Too Busy to Focus on Your Happiness? Try Daily Micro-Acts of Joy
Researchers, led by UC San Francisco, tested the effectiveness of a weeklong, web-based wellbeing intervention, known as the Big Joy Project. This consisted of daily micro-acts, which included asking someone to share a fun, inspiring, or proud moment, making a gratitude list, and performing a kind act to brighten someone’s day. Approximately 17,600 people from around the world participated: most were from the United States, Canada and Great Britain (71%), female (84%), white (74%), with at least some college education (94%).
What They Discovered:
Why It Matters:
“Many people lack the time, motivation, and resources to commit to these lengthier programs, and they may be more likely to drop out,” said first author Darwin Guevarra , PhD, who is also affiliated with Miami University. “We were excited to get positive results in a program that required just a few minutes each day for a week.”
Publication: Journal of Medical Internet Research (June 4, 2025)
Other Authors: Yoobin Park , PhD, and Jin Liou of UCSF; Xuhai Xu, PhD, of Columbia University; Jolene Smith and Peggy Callahan of Mission: JOY; Emiliana Simon-Thoms, PhD, of UC Berkeley.
Funding and Disclosures: Smith and Callahan are from the nonprofit that partially funded the Big Joy Project.
About UCSF: The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health , which serves as UCSF's primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. UCSF School of Medicine also has a regional campus in Fresno. Learn more at ucsf.edu , or see our Fact Sheet .
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Journal of Medical Internet Research